Ahhh!

I hope this week's (day late) blog finds you all in calmer moods than I. It has been quite an insane week on this end, and it will be that way on through Wednesday. So let me break it down for you (ha, ha, ha, that sounds really goofy, I know.)

The week started off great, I had tons of free time to kill and hardly a care in the world, I couldn't care less that finals were a week away. On Wednesday afternoon I had absolutely nothing to do. Then I realized that the Student Activities Board (A student organized group, A.K.A. SAB, that hosts several fun events throughout they year.) was hosting Casino Night. It promised to be a night of Blackjack and Texas Hold 'Em that was absolutely free but gave you the chance of awesome prizes. A friend and I went and I had a great time, but sadly didn't win anything.

When I got back to my room I started having a pain in my chest and stomach. I had had the pain a few times before over the past month or so but this time it was BAD! So I had my roommate and a friend take me to the Emergency Room. I was there for 13 hours, had lots of tests, and turns out I have massive gallstones infesting my gallbladder and I have to have surgery to have the gallbladder removed. The surgery is this Friday-- the same week as finals.

First off just let this sink in. I was in the hospital for 13 hours the night before, into the day of, my last day of two of my classes. Then I have surgery scheduled for Finals Week. Surely you can see the problem here.

Thankfully, the professors here are so kind and eager to work with you. My adviser contacted me almost immediately and asked if there were anything she could do. I worked with her to have a final scheduled for Thursday rescheduled for Wednesday so I could go home the day before my surgery and prepare. The two classes I missed from being in the ER were mainly review sessions, but I will meet with those professors during office hours to make it up. So I should be all right.

It is reading day now and I've been busy all day with studying. In just a bit SAB will host Stress Fest which is a really cool late-night breakfast served by professors that also has some awesome prizes. I might check it out.

Anyway, I'll write a bit later. Don't forget that May 1st is the national deadline to make a college decision!

-Jake

FLA

Another week, another blog. I can't believe it has been as long as it has. This coming week is the last week of classes for my second term as a Transy student! Which means only a week left of FLA.

FLA, or Foundations of Liberal Arts, is a two-part class that all Transy students must take. Your first semester of Transy is spent with FLA 1 as a class-- you are randomly assigned a professor and classmates, and all sections of FLA 1 are essentially the same. This semester is devoted to writing three formal, but still somewhat short, pieces.

Your second semester you pick a FLA 2 topic, and there are a lot of pretty interesting things to pick from. My FLA 2 topic is Consumerism, Desire, and Identity. Other topics include a study on the paranormal, there is one on Fairy Tales, the American Civil Rights movement, and there is even one on the Lord of the Rings (Still no Harry Potter topic yet, sadly...)

FLA 2 revolves around writing a 12-15 page research paper and presenting it to your peers. You get to decide on your research topic yourself, as long as it fits the broader topic of your FLA 2 section. My research paper is on Disney and its effects on the identity of viewers. It has been a very interesting topic to research.

FLA gets some pretty mixed reviews from students, and I'm not going to lie the class can be pretty frustrating. Most of my late nights have been devoted to FLA assignments. Even though the course is tough and at times I want to curse its very existence I do know that it is preparing me for upper level classes to come where I will be begging for another FLA assignment. I really am thankful that Transy devotes two classes to prepare us for a college career full of writing.

Staying (or getting) Healthy in College.

I hope this blog posting finds you all well and, to those who celebrate it, enjoying a great Easter weekend. Sorry I didn't post last week in the business of things I completely forgot.

For these week's blog I've decided to post something that has already been talked about by friend and fellow blogger Cory Collins, but I will be adding my own unique, and rather new, perspective to it.

Everyone has heard of the proverbial and infamous Freshman 15. The pooch of padding that all say will inevitably attach itself when you leave home and enter the realm of college life with no kitchen, food galore, and no one to tell you to stop. Well, this can be true, but not always.

Transy has so many things to promote a healthy lifestyle. Sodexo, the company in charge of our dining services, offers Balanced Way dining, which are meals selected for healthy content and all under 600 calories. The Beck Center houses an indoor track and complete gym free to all students, and the Campus Center is home to a racquetball court and indoor pool.

This is me just before I came to Transy while on vacation in California.

All these things are great. I have to admit, though, that when I came to Transy I didn't care at all. I came here weighing 250 pounds. I never visited the Beck Center, didn't know what the Balanced Way was, and made late night Chicken Bacon Ranch pizzas from the 1780 cafe a daily occurrence.

That, however, was first semester. When I went home over Christmas Break something changed, and I decided I was going to start doing things the healthy way. Not a diet, but a complete change in how I lived my day to day life. I came back for my second semester and made exercise a priority, and eating right a necessity.

I began going to the Beck Center three days a week. I ignored the pizzas and greasy foods, and replaced my night time trip to the 1780 with a yogurt from my fridge. Amazingly it was quite easy. Well, it started out hard. I couldn't run a mile without walking (and only attempted late at night because, for no legit reason at all I was embarrassed to be seen at the Beck Center). Now, however, I just completed an 8K (Five Miles) run with my Dad here in Lexington without walking at all!My Dad and I after running in AVOL's Red Ribbon Run (8K).

Because of the combined resources of healthy food, workout areas, and education materials available on this campus I have been able to lose 65 pounds, and I continue the same routine that has now become part of my college life. I tell you all this not to brag, or seek compliments, as some may think. I want you all to know that college, as everyone will tell you, is about change. Everyone agrees that in college you transform yourself mentally and socially, but why not physically too? Transy is a great place to start, or continue, a healthy lifestyle. If you are familiar with the show, you can think of it as your own "Biggest Loser" ranch. The resources are tremendous, use them and the Freshman 15 will be something you can proudly say never happened.

Above is me before I started taking advantage of the health resources on campus, and below is me now!